Between the Lines
by Lapse in Judgment
Summary: Twenty six letters make up our world- they hold infinite potential for either good or ill. It is what we choose to do with them that defines us. A series of semi-interconnected Fayana stories done for each letter of the alphabet. Dedicated to Fabberrittanainthetardis, rated M for violence.
1. Aliens

_Author's note: These stories take place out of chronological order, with several being interconnected. They are also slightly AU, with the Blackwell children having come to Chance Harbour, and Faye having been hospitalized after her breakup. If anyone requires clarification, please send me a message. Reviews are appreciated. _

* * *

_Aliens_

It's a game they play. Both claim to hate it, though that never stops them. Is it really cat and mouse if both are the hunter?

Today they're at Faye's house. Her mother is gone as always, and Diana is grateful for it. Faye would never allow her here alone if someone could witness them. Their relationship is too new, and she's afraid that Diana will spook if someone sees them.

The movie tonight is Aliens. Diana always chooses something scary despite her hatred of horror. It resembles their lives too closely for her comfort: their lives are filled with enough death and terror to render the movies unnecessary, but they offer the pretense to take what she can't ask for.

Faye's body is long and slim, lithely built with little excess. Diana twines her arms tightly around Faye's waist as the movie progresses. They always start at opposing ends of the couch, but as the horrors grows the distance shrinks, Diana crawling towards her friend. She claims that she seeks her out in fear, but Faye knows that it's the only way she'll allow herself to touch her. Diana is proud but pragmatic, and the fact that she denies herself the contact she craves baffles Faye. How can someone so intelligent be so foolish?

They've been doing this for weeks now, and Faye wishes there was progress. Diana comes to her every possible Friday, movie in hand. They don't speak, simply put it in. They exist in silence, even as Diana patterns her collarbone with kisses. If she speaks Diana will stop and she can't go back to what they used to be. This lack of definition is painful; going back would be agony.

So Faye says nothing, just allows Diana to take what she can't ask for. She can see echoes of the monsters in the movies in Diana's eyes- empty and broken and powerfully lonely. She won't fault her for this, not matter how much it hurts.

After all, what are friends for?


	2. Allies

_Allies_

Diana doesn't have a name for what she and Faye are. They are too distant for friends, too unsure. They are stone and wind: one unmovable, the other too much so. Diana requires control. She worries without routine and order; it comforts her. Faye is the opposite. She lives for disorder, for fun and excitement. She recoils from the imposition of rules as thought they are flames sent to burn her. Her freedom is more important than her life and she rails against Diana's imposed order.

They challenge one another, and at one time Diana resented it. She had wished for nothing more than Faye's submission, but now there is nothing she fears more. Faye without rage is Faye without hope, and the thought terrifies her. She had seen the hope fade from her friend's eyes, watched frozen as Faye broke at her impending death. It had crushed her more than she had thought it possibly could.

Faye's allegiance had been hard won: she does not forgive betrayal and her resentment of Diana had stemmed from that which she deemed unforgivable. It had taken months, but they could be alone together now. Their bond runs less than friendly, but deeply of respect.

She'll call them allies.


	3. Bacon

_Bacon_

Smoke was billowing from the pan, filling the house. Diana glanced around nervously, chewing at her lip. She had wanted to _surprise_ her girlfriend, not kill her from smoke inhalation.

"Diana?" Fyae's voice echoed down the stairs, equal parts irritated and concerned. "Are you alright?"

Diana sighed, defeated, staring at the wreckage on the stove. "Yeah, I'm okay. Your breakfast not so much." She flicked her wrist, switching off the burner. "Hope you want toast."

Faye's laughter preceded her into the room, drawing an unwilling smile to Diana's lips. "Did you try making breakfast again?"

"I think this is a sign that I should just stay a vegetarian."

Her reply was more laughter as Faye moved to put the dishes in the sink. "Or that you should read directions more closely."

Diana quirked an eyebrow. "What directions? You put it in a pan and fry it: you don't need directions."

"Most people don't no, but you're a special case. And I meant my rules. They're on the fridge." Faye was scrubbing at the pans, scowling as she tried to pries the ruined bacon out of the pan. "I think you ruined this," she added. Diana stuck her tongue out before striding to the fridge. She clapped a hand to her mouth to keep from laughing. Faye's directions were spelled across the fridge in magnets, just as she had said.

_Diana is not allowed to touch the stove under any circumstances, not even if something is on fire or she needs something to hold onto during kitchen sex. She is allowed to make fruit, cereal, yogurt, and instant waffles. Anything else is out of bounds, not exceptions._

"I'm not that bad!" Diana exclaimed, moving to fix herself a bowl of cereal. "If I was as bad as you seem to believe Adam would have been dead a long time ago."

"I seem to recall that he had a rule where you were only allowed to make dessert. He actually warned me about your cooking." Faye grinned at her smugly, black hair falling across her face.

Diana tucked the strand behind her ear, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. "He did not. He'd have told you I was a fabulous cook and hoped you'd die."

Faye shrugged, abandoning the pan to turn to Diana. "Well the day's still young; I can add it to my to do list. But before that I want to find out what's so good about breakfast in bed, so come on." Diana laughed and followed, cereal in hand.


	4. Coffee

_Coffee_

"You have the palette of a five year old."

Faye glared at her over her book, green eyes narrowed. "Say whatever you want; I'm not going to drink it." Diana groaned in frustration, tossing her pen down.

"It's coffee, Faye. I'm not asking you to drink battery acid: it won't hurt you." Faye didn't respond, returning her attention pointedly to her book. Diana shook her head in disbelief. "Seriously? What in god's name is so bad about it?"

Resolute silence was her reply. They were at Diana's house, supposedly prepping for a history exam. Not a lot of studying had actually occurred; they'd spent most of their time bickering. "Cassie drinks it no problem," she needled.

"Cassie is an airheaded drama queen with no sense of taste or self-preservation!" Faye slammed her book shut, whirling to face her friend. "The fact that she drinks coffee is just more proof of her mental problems." They glared at each other for a long time, eyes alight with anger. Finally Faye turned away, defeated. "It's bitter."

That threw Diana. She blinked a few times, brown eyes confused. "What?"

"Coffee," Faye replied. "Coffee is bitter. It reminds me of the meds they made me take when I was in the hospital. They were all bitter. They would grind them up and put them in my water when I wouldn't take them." Her knuckles bled white as her hands clenched in unrestrained rage. "I can't stand it."

Diana was silent. She knew that Faye had been hospitalized two years ago after Jake left her. Knew that the person who had come back avoided any drink they didn't see opened in front of them and lashed out at anyone she thought was trying to control her. She probably would have done the same thing if she'd been in the same position.

She moved toward her girlfriend, fingers carding through her hair. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I won't make you drink it, okay? I promise." Faye rolled her eyes, but didn't move away.

"It's no big deal; I'll just stick to tea for the foreseeable future. That good?"

"Whatever you want."


	5. Dog

_Dog_

Eben is a connoisseur of dogs. He has studied and trained them all this life. He knows which breeds to use for which purposes and can handle them all with ease.

His favourite part is breaking them to his will.

The more willful they are the greater the challenge, and the one at his feet promises to be memorable. She is a proud creature with long black hair, green eyes and a sharper tongue than he had expected. She is glaring at him right now, her lips pulled back over her teeth in a hideous snarl. She opens her mouth to speak and he closes it with a kick to her jaw.

Dogs shouldn't speak to their masters.

This one's master is speeding towards him, hoping to make a trade. A vicious attack dog- one strong enough to burn down a city with her will- for the location of his dearest enemy.

Eben circles his dog, considering. Her skin has blossomed black: a lovely purple tinged hue that has taken days to perfect. Blood is staining her teeth and chin, and he pauses at this, wondering if he should take some for additional insurance. He decides against it; it was part of the deal, after all.

He has also considered retraining her, turning her to his own uses. It would be difficult in the extreme: she has had two previous masters in addition to her own willfulness, and failing would mean the destruction of all around her. Besides, she has bitten her first handler and yields only begrudgingly to the second. How strange it is that such a vicious woman obeys a gentle one.

Yes, he will have to turn her over, but for now he will do with her as he pleases. He will dye the rest of her skin to his taste and brand her as he has the others.

He wouldn't want her to forget him, after all.


	6. Electricity

_Electricity_

It crackles between their fingers whenever the brush. It sparks and snaps with vicious abandon, frightening those around them. The atmosphere is charged and dangerous and no-one is sure if they will melt down.

They're well within their rights to worry. Faye and Diana are vastly different at first glance; it is only when one looks closer that they realize how similar they are. Identical drive, cloned loyalty; their supposed differences are superficial observations about their personalities, little more. It was only in the face of death that their real difference shows.

Diana is accepting. She tries to distance herself from danger, to make peace with herself. Faye will scream, kick, bite, kill, run. She will not lie down and die, and it enrages her to no end that Diana will. There is steel in the brunette's spine and Faye strives to make it show.

They rarely relent against one another. They spark higher and sharper towards each other- strengthening, weakening, supporting, destroying. The others don't understand why they're like this, why they would willing seek one another out when all they can see is them hurting each other. It never really crosses their mind that they can't live without the other. Duality requires a partner to exist. Remove it and the remainder can't function.

Realizing the truth will kill them.


	7. Fog

_Fog_

Diana is content. She didn't think she could be anymore, not with everything that's happened. And yet here she is. She sighs happily and burrows deeper into her blanket, smiling when Faye curls closer in sleep.

They're sitting in the window watching the fog creep up the coast. She has a mug of tea in her hands, there's a fire burning in the hearth, and her girlfriend is sleeping contentedly on her chest. It's the most relaxed she's been in months.

She plays absently with Faye's hair. They had spent hours just talking to each other and enjoying the company. She had fought against this for months and she can't for the life of her remember why.

But for now she doesn't want to think about it. For now she's happy to just sit here and watch the fog come in, warm and safe and loved. Isn't that what everyone wants?


	8. Giraffe

_Giraffe_

There's a giraffe sitting in her locker. It's on top of her math book, smiling sweetly up at her. A note is tied to its neck with white ribbon.

_Happy birthday, Ana!_

Diana picked him up, smile blooming across her face. He was a tiny little thing and clearly well loved, his fur worn through in patches. She gave him a squeeze, leaping a foot in the air in surprise when a voice sounded to her right. "Do you like him?"

Faye was leaning nonchalantly against her locker, a nervous smile pulling at her lips. Tight black jeans and a deep purple shirt clung to her frame, black hair curling about mischievous green eyes. Diana grinned warmly in return, hugging the toy the way she wished she could hug Faye.

"He's adorable," she replied, tapping Faye lightly on the nose. _Just like you_. She thinks it but doesn't say it, and Diana wishes they were alone so she could thank Faye how she wanted. "Does he have a name?"

Faye's smile loses its self-consciousness as she moves to answer when Diana sees it. A group of students is walking down the hallway, seconds away from passing them, and she reacts without thinking. She whirls from Faye and shoves the giraffe roughly back in her locker. She rummages frantically about until the other students pass, only turning back to her girlfriend once she's certain they're alone again.

Her heart plummets. Faye's gentle smile is replaced by a venomous scowl. She straightens up from her position on the locker and Diana shrinks, guilt curving her spine. "His name is Roman," Faye says, "but I don't think that really matters to you." Faye stalks off, leaving Diana near tears.

They'll find each other later; they always do. Diana will shower Faye in love and gentle reassurances; beg forgiveness form bent knees as she worships the taller girl. Faye will cry and hold her as she forces herself to believe that Diana will one day be comfortable in public. They try and breathe life into each other with love, but it doesn't feel like enough.

It feels a lot like dying.


	9. Hail

_Hail_

There's a body in front of her. It looks a lot like her girlfriend, but that's ridiculous. Her girlfriend's eyes are a deep, sun-warmed brown, not black and blank like these.

The wind is cold.

She stumbles. The body stares up at her, mouth slightly agape. Its hair- not her girlfriend's- is dyed black with blood to match its eyes. With trembling fingers she cards through the blood free strands and the scent of pomegranates washes over her.

It mixes beautifully with the scent of blood.

Anger is cold. The body is cold. The body of her girlfriend is cold and smells of blood where it should smell of the fruit they would eat together afterwards, when their bodies would still be slick with sweat and their hearts warm with love. She's cold now.

Just like Diana.

The wind picks up. Ice flies through the sky as Faye moves to lie with the girl she adores. There is no past tense. Faye curls herself to fit beside the smaller girl (just as she has a thousand times before) and waits for the cold to claim her.

Hail the size of baseballs whistle towards the ground, drawn by gravity and propelled by despair. It doesn't take long for her to die and join the one she loves. Their blood mingles on the hard-packed ground.

The world is quiet now.


	10. Index

_Index_

_I love you_.

The words stop Cassie short. It's been two weeks since Faye and Diana were found dead behind the school, frozen and bloody. They're only just now starting to go through their belongings: Cassie through Diana's, Melissa through Faye's. It had been going well until she found Diana's English book. She had been flipping through it, pausing on the index, when the words jumped out at her. They stunned her sure, but not nearly as muc as the reply written beneath in neat printing.

_I love you too._

The reply is clearly in Faye's hand. Faye, who had fought with Diana more than anyone else Cassie knew. She flips through the book, jaw dropping slowly open the more she reads.

There are scrawled notes on every page: sometimes there are only one word replies; others whole paragraphs dominate the margins. Their conversations are varied. They argue about the nature of their relationship for roughly five pages in terms that make Cassie blush scarlet. On another page they speak only in ridiculous pick-up lines; on yet another they set up plans for a movie night three months ago. She reads the book cover to cover, and by the end her eyes are so tear stained that she can't see. They had been In love for months and now they're just bodies in the ground, cold and separated forever.

She buries the book between their graves. They lie side by side with their words bridging the space between them. She keeps one page for each person who survived them: there are hundreds of pages; they won't miss four. She wishes she could do more, but maybe this will be enough.


	11. Juice

_Juice_

Faye cursed under her breath as she dug through the fridge. It wasn't in there. No matter how convinced Diana was to the contrary the simple fact remained that there wasn't any pomegranate juice left in the house. She sighed angrily, shoving black hair behind her ear. "It's not in here, Ana."

"It has to be," came the hoarse reply. Diana was sitting at the table, wrapped tightly in a blanket looking miserable. She had been sick for the last three days and wasn't getting any better despite Faye's constant attention. "I just bought some."

Faye rose slowly, trying her best to force the tension from her voice. "You finished it yesterday, just like I said. We're all out." She pressed a kiss to Diana's forehead, wincing at how hot her skin was. "I can go get you some if you want."

Diana shook her head tiredly. She leaned forward to press her forehead against Faye's collarbone. "No, it's ok. I'll be alright without it."

"You sure? You're supposed to drink stuff like that when you're sick." Faye pushed her back, forcing her to make eye contact. Worry coloured her green eyes and Diana couldn't help but smile. "I don't want you too keel over dead because you were too stubborn to ask me to buy you some damn juice."

Diana laughed, pressing a pacifying kiss to Faye's cheek. "I'm fine, Faye. Trust me. It's just the flu: I'll be better in a couple of days for sure." She smiled brightly. "You look nice, by the way"

Faye rolled her eyes in reply as she pulled away, moving to make breakfast. Diana smiled as she watched her, curling her blankets tighter around herself. She never would have believed she'd see Faye cooking, let alone taking care of her, but here she was.

_This is almost worth being sick. _"I should be filming this. Melissa'll never believe me when I tell her about this without physical evidence."

"If you tell anyone about this that cold won't have time to kill you; I'll do it myself." Faye strode back over and shoved a glass of orange juice into Diana's hand. "Now drink this and shut up."

Diana chuckled, sipping at the drink and smiling. Faye being attentive was definitely something she could get used to.


	12. Kite

_Kite_

There's a kite hanging above them, casting shadows across their bodies as it moves. The sun is baking their skin a mottled red-brown, but they're all to comfortable to care.

Mellissa watches all this, golden eyes tracing the path the kite's shadow makes across their skin. They're at the lake, and somehow they've survived to see the summer. She didn't think they would make it but here they are, sunbathing by the lake on a blazing July day like six normal teenagers.

God she hopes they'll live to see next year.

The boys are in the lake, trying to catch Cassie's eye with limited degrees of success. She's the one flying the kite, her eyes glued to the sky. They had done a spell to ensure she would have the wind she wanted, and the smile it brought to her face was incredible.

Faye and Diana are lying together on the dock, pressed so close together it's difficult to tell who's who. They've grown comfortable enough around each other to allow the others to see them like this, and Melissa's smile grows to match Cassie's. The sun is shining, her friends are content, and even if they die tomorrow they were undeniably happy today.

She shuts her eyes, and feels the kite pass over her.


	13. Louisiana

_Louisiana_

"I always wanted to go to Louisiana."

The statement hangs over them in the stillness of the air. Diana considers it as her hand ghosts across Faye's chest. She can feel the infection burning from the other girl's lungs as she works. "Why Louisiana, "she asks.

"It's warm," Faye chokes out. Diana bites her lips in response and presses harder, as though pressure will do to the pneumonia what magic can't. It's been strangling Faye little by little for weeks now and Diana's sure it's about to win, but she has to try. The alternative is unthinkable. "And Cajun accents are hot."

She rolls her eyes and chuckles. It's just the two of them now, hiding in this cave like animals. Their friends are dead, buried outside the mouth of the cavern. The Balcoin children favoured disease over fire, and had accomplished with it what their father could not: there was one Light witch left in North America, and she'd be dead in an hour if Diana couldn't burn off the infection. She sighed, switching to Faye's left lung. "Of course that's your reasoning."

Faye coughed violently, eyes screwing shut and face burning red. Diana yelped and clutched her tightly, forcing herself not to sob. If Faye died she'd be alone. There would be no one left who knew her before the Dark had found her. Faye quieted shortly after, leaning back to look in Diana's eyes. She shook her head. "I'm dead, Ana. Please, just… please." Her voice was raspy and desperate. "I can't do this anymore. _Please._"

"No," Diana said firmly. "You're not dying until I let you. Now lie back down so I can work."

Faye didn't die that night, or the night after. They are engaged three years late, Diana proposing in the French Quarter of New Orleans. In another five the number of Light witches doubles, doubling again two years after that. Diana is proudest of this fact, that for once Dark saved Light instead of destroying it.


	14. Macaroni

_Macaroni_

Diana is fond of making lists. If she has nothing to do, or too much to think about, she'll sit and categorize until she can think clearly again. She keeps lists of facts about her friends, tucked safely away in her room where no one will see.

The facts are small, inane. Adam hates the colour orange. Melissa is allergic to shellfish and tree nuts. Cassie and Jake are insomniacs. Faye can eat an entire package of Kraft Dinner by herself. Stupid, unimportant things like that.

She hopes one day someone will pay as much attention to her as she does to them.


	15. News

_News_

The floor is gone. The world has vanished beneath her feet and Diana is falling. Down, down, down into the Dark that wants her so badly. That terrifies her so much. The father she knew had been a murderer; the father she didn't was a monster.

She vomits and cries, tries to convince herself that somewhere in her lineage there is someone decent. That she won't turn out like either of her fathers, like her sisters and brothers. She would rather die than be like them.

Faye doesn't hold her. She keeps her hand firmly on Diana's back as she cries and watches in silence. She doesn't tell Diana that she's sorry; Faye does confrontation, not comfort. Desperate, she says the only thing she can think of.

"If it makes a difference, you're way better looking than any of them."

The words don't help at all, but the fact that Faye is still treating her the same does. Knowing that they won't change is enough for now.


	16. Occupation

_Occupation_

"I wanted to be a teacher," Diana said. "Ever since we first walked into the school that was all I wanted to do." She shakes her head. There's a cut on her right cheek that her hair sticks to, catching on the blood. She would cry if she wasn't so tired. They all would, but that's not an option anymore. All they can do now is wait.

It takes a while, but eventually Adam replies. "I wanted to be an accountant." Faye and Jake's laughter cuts him off and he shoots them a glare through his good eye. "Sue me, I liked working with numbers. Is that so bad?"

"It's not bad, just really lame." It's Melissa who speaks this time. "I was going to be a therapist. God knows we could have used one. I would have liked to help other kids like us."

"There are no kids like us," Jakes interjects. "There's only us. We're all that's left." His voice is thick from his split lip and broken nose, and it's difficult to understand. No one speaks for a while, each listening to the banging on the door above them. They would be dead when it finally gave in.

Jakes speaks again. "And, if I got to live, I'd have wanted to be a fighter pilot. That would have been awesome." No one laughs at this; they're all bleeding too heavily to mock each other anymore. "Wanna weigh in, Faye? Own up to the one thing you're not gonna live to do?" His grin reveals broken and missing teeth and the sight makes the other's stomachs turn. There's no response, not even breathing. "Faye?"

"Calm down; I was just thinking. I wanted to be an interior designer, alright?" This was met with the most incredulous noises the others could manage and she snarled at them. "You know what? Shut up, all of you. It's your own damn fault you asked."

Melissa opened her mouth, smile pulling at her lips as she went to reply, just as the door gave way. The corresponding explosion killed them and the Balcoin children above them instantly, and rid the world of witches. That was how they were remembered, as the Final Circle, not as the children they were or the adults they had longed to become.


	17. Purple

_Purple_

Everyone has a favourite colour. Few people have a definite reason for why they like it; in most cases they simply do. Diana isn't like them, though. She knows exactly why purple is her favourite colour, exactly why it makes her feel so safe. The best days start and end with purple, though the in between may be a thousand horrific shades of red.

Purple is the first thing she'll see the morning after, when the world is still perfect and her girlfriend is asleep beside her. The weak light will bleach the walls just that little bit lighter and the room will smell like pomegranates and perfume.

Purple is the last thing she sees after nights with Faye. The walls will be the darkest shad of the colour and the air will be heavy with their panting. No matter what the day has brought they try and end it this way.

It's the colour of life: seeing it again means having survived another day, which is becoming nothing short of a miracle. Diana dreads the day when she wakes up to any other colour; it will mean the end of the last of her happiness, that she and Faye are over. She's relieved beyond measure when she finds her way back there each night, back to her favourite colour and the arms of her lover.

She wants it to be the last thing she ever sees, if she can't see Faye.


	18. QTip

_Q-Tip_

"Ow! That fucking stings!"

"It's your own damn fault. Now stop being a pussy and let me fix this." It takes a lot to make Diana swear (she prides herself on her self-control), but this is just the sort of behaviour Faye inspires in her.

Faye and Melissa had been working on a spell that was supposed to ward off insects- it was mid-July and the mosquitoes had become unbearable. All they had managed to do was attract anything with six legs in a fifty mile radius directly to them. Adam and Cassie had eventually been able to Vanish the swarm, but not before Melissa and Faye had been bitten or stung almost beyond recognition.

This was how Diana found herself smearing after-bite on Faye's unwilling face. She was too frustrated to even consider spelling her back to normal, despite having done so to Melissa earlier. Sometimes Faye just needed to suffer. "You should have known better."

"Are you still on about that? I got one freaking word wrong Diana; just let it go and help me!"

"No! You nearly got yourself and Melissa hospitalized! I told you to test the fricking spell first! Hell, I told you to check if there was a negative clause! But oh no, you had to go and do it anyway. This is what you get for ignoring me. After everything that's happened, you'd think you'd remember that you should actually listen to what I'm telling you." She tossed the Q-Tip in the trash, cursing under her breath.

Faye said nothing, instead glaring pointedly in the direction she thought Diana was standing. "I hate you."

"Sure you do. Now put this cloth on your face and shut up."


	19. Radiant

_Radiant_

Diana's skin seems to capture the sun. It holds it prisoner, turning shades of darker and darker bronze the more it capture. The sun will lighten the brown in her hair, make her eyes glow with a warmth that they never possess in winter. She radiates warmth and comfort and Faye soaks it in, curling closer the chase away the chill her heart takes on.

Faye's skin is cold. Her tone and demeanour match it soundly, and sometimes Diana will instinctively from her touch. She tries not to; she knows Faye can't help it. She can't change what she is and Diana wouldn't want her to even if she could. She loves her as she is; even values the cold the other girl gives off. Cold can numb pain and strengthen resolve, and so she sinks gratefully into Faye's arms, desperate to freeze the pain in her chest.

The heat and cold balance one another. They temper and regulate, leaving each stronger than they were before. They try not to think about what they would do if one of them were to leave; it's too terrifying and too likely to stand thinking about long. For now they'll stay here, relax and heal and maybe even grow stronger. It's safe and that's about all they can really hope for at this point.


	20. Swirl

_Swirl_

"What are you doing?" Faye looked up, green eyes meeting amused brown. Diana was grinning down at her, shadows dappling across her skin. They were behind the Abandoned House, basking in the first real heat of summer. Faye grinned mischievously up at her before returning her attention to Diana's hand.

"Drawing," she replied. The pen traced patterns across Diana's skin, feathers and swirls branching up towards her wrist.

Diana leaned closer, scrutinizing her work. "It's beautiful," she breathed. Faye ignored her, continuing to sketch up her arm. Diana leaned back, relaxing her arm to aid in Faye's work.

She would leave with her skin burned red and her right arm adorned with runes and swirls, intricate patterns that she would replicate years later in Faye's honour, a living testament to the girl she loves.

It's a wonderful day to be alive.


	21. Telephone

_Telephone_

"I love you."

Faye froze. Completely. Her heart and lungs weren't working: her blood couldn't move through her veins. She'd said it. She'd said it out loud. She had said it out loud and Diana could _hear_ her say it. She was going to faint. Or die. Yes, she was going to die.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She'd planned how she was going to do this. Spent hours day dreaming about exactly how she would go about this whole thing. She would give her flowers and take her out to dinner. They would come home and watch a movie over a glass of red wine, and, as they grew tired, she would whisper it against her lips as they kissed.

She wasn't supposed to blurt it out in the middle of a conversation about that day's history assignment.

Bust she had. And now she was sitting there, hoping against hope that Diana either hadn't heard her or that there was a time travel spell readily available. _Jesus Christ._

A laugh echoed through the phone and Faye decided that she was going to cry in lieu of fainting and dying. She took a deep breath, readying herself to ring off before the tears started flowing when Diana spoke. "I love you too Faye, but what exactly does that have to do with the Russian occupation of Poland?"

They both laugh and Faye falls back on her pillows with a smile so wide her face hurts later. It was perfect, just not the perfect she had imagined.


	22. Umbrella

_Umbrella_

It's pouring at her funeral. Has been for days. The spirit of a powerful witch can leave traces on the world around them when they die. This is Faye's legacy: a month long hurricane that will leave the town in ruins.

Diana buries her in the woods where Cassie first saw magic a lifetime ago. She does so by hand, beneath the deluge. There is no one left to help her. Their Circle was the Final Circle, and when she dies there will be no more witches in the New World. She could charm an umbrella to shield her as she works but she won't. Faye hated them, delighting in the feeling of rain on her skin, and there's nothing wrong with a little remembrance.

So she'll stand vigil, soaking wet with an umbrella unused at her side. She'll accept Faye's final gift with open arms and won't try to stop the tears when they fall.

It's the least she can do.


	23. Valentine

_Valentine_

Their first Valentine's day ended with Melissa overdosing on Devil's Spirit in Faye's living room. Their second is just as bad, with Jake and Faye bleeding on the floor after a fight with Doreah. Their third, fourth, and fifth are terrible as well, and Diana is determined to make this one go well. They deserve it, after all they've been through.

They're in New Orleans, waiting outside the restaurant they were _supposed _to have a reservation at. She'd spent months trying to get a table here,- eventually resorting to a persuasion spell to ensure they were seated- and now their reservation was gone, given to some add exec. Diana was fuming silently as Faye tried unsuccessfully to hail a cab. Tonight was supposed to go right; _had _to go right and, in perfect Valentine's tradition, it just wasn't. She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"What for" Faye asked, eyes still fixed on the road. "You haven't done anything wrong." She moved to stand beside her girlfriend, pressing a quick kiss to Diana's cheek. "It's that asshole's fault, not yours."

She smiled weakly. "I wanted this to be perfect. We've had such a bad run with this holiday that I just wanted it to go differently for once." Faye didn't say anything, just shifted closer to press a second kiss to Diana's shoulder. They stood like that for a long time, watching the traffic roll by. Finally Diana stepped away. "Do you remember the cave?"

Faye's silence turned tense. Their time in the cave had given Faye with weak lungs and a lasting hate of the cold and the damp: they'd moved to Nevada their first chance to escape it. She sucked in a breath, nodding tersely. "Yeah, I remember it. Why?"

_Now or never. _Diana turned to her, a sad, gentle smile pulling at her lips as she knelt before her, before the woman she had saved four years ago and had loved for six. She drew a box from within her pocket, carefully gauging Faye's expression.

"Because I've wanted to ask you this question ever since then. Faye, will you marry me?"


	24. Window

_Windows_

"This is all your fault!"

"I'm sorry! I forgot, alright? You don't need to tear my head off!"

"I can tear your head off if I want to! They all saw us Faye! Everyone. Saw. Us. They all know!"

"They were going to find out anyway! We'd agreed we were going to tell them soon."

"Yes! _Tell_ them! Not get caught because you were parading around my room naked!"

"I forgot!"

"Forgot what? That you were naked? Or that windows work both ways?"

"… The last one?"

"You're an idiot."

"Fine, I'm an idiot. Now get over here: there aren't any windows and I want to apologize properly."


	25. X Ray

_X-Ray_

Hospital waiting rooms are universally loud, dull, and frustrating. They're uncomfortable and stuffy, and the company leaves a lot to be desired. Faye and Diana were staring at opposite sides of the room, each lost in their own thoughts. Faye was holding a bag of ice to her eye; Diana one to her nose.

They had been practicing a spell right out of Harry Potter: if done properly it would turn statues into defensive sentinels. If done improperly, like it had been, the statues were turned into raging golems, stopping their rampaged only when Melissa and Jake Crushed them. They hadn't been fast enough to stop Faye and Diana from getting belted in the face, but at least nothing important had been destroyed.

Faye glanced at Diana through her good eye, guilt crushing her throat. She hadn't wanted to hurt her: the entire point of the spell was to keep them from _getting _hurt. She turned her attention back to her knees. "I'm sorry."

Diana sighed. "It's alright. " She turned to Faye. "I know you didn't mean for this to happen."

"Still," Faye countered. "I'm really sorry. "I didn't think it would hurt you." She took Diana's hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it, holding it to her chest. Diana smiled beneath the ice.

"Tell you what. If nothing's broken I won't hold it against you, okay? So you can stop hating yourself now."

"But what if it _is _broken?"

"Then my nose is broken. It's not the end of the world, Faye." Diana's tone was firm. "You and I both know it was an accident, and we're going to treat it as such and move on. I'm not going to ruin your life by making you feel guilty about this." She pressed a quick kiss to Faye's good eye, flinching as her nose throbbed. "I love you, and that isn't going to stop because of some stupid accident both of us caused. Got it?" Faye nodded, clearly restraining herself from speaking further. "Good."

They left three hours later, clean bills of health in their hands. Diana kissed her, over and over until Faye's guilt bled away, replaced with the love she usually felt.

This wasn't her fault, and Diana would spend forever convincing her of that if she had to.


	26. Yellow

_Yellow_

Diana's skin is the wrong colour. Where it should be a smooth, unbroken bronze it is instead sickly and jaundiced. The center of her face is a nauseating shade of yellow-green and Faye can't stand to look at her. She did this. Her stupidity is written all across Diana's face and she just can't stand to look at it.

She turned away when Diana tried to kiss her earlier, flinched back when she tried to hold her hand. She doesn't want to see what she's done. She isn't in denial- she's not that stupid- but she just can't bear to see the wreck she's made of her girlfriend's face. She has no trouble looking at her own swollen eye (that was her own fault, afterall) but there's something about looking at Diana's bruises that makes the guilt sharp enough to cut.

She doesn't understand that her turning away is hurting Diana more than any bruise. That punishing herself for a mistake is a pointless exercise that's doing nothing but hurt them both. So she'll bit her tongue and wait for the day Faye won't turn from her, will let her kiss her how she usually does.

She just hopes it'll happen soon; the wait is killing her.


	27. Zebra

_Zebra_

They've been hooking up for months now, ever since the witch hunters first arrived on Halloween. They've been as intimate as two people can be but they've never gone on an actual date before. This doesn't sit well with Diana, and eventually she decides to remedy it. They argue for a week straight before settling on going to the zoo. It was stupid, but they were so nervous they couldn't relax.

They visit the penguins first, then the otters. Faye tries a spell that allows them to talk to animals, which makes Diana grin. The chat with a tiger and a few kangaroos, and Faye gets in an argument with a zebra that leaves Diana in stitches. They spend the day experimenting with magic and enjoying each other's company. It's nice, and they start returning every year.

Twelve years later they take their son and daughter there, teach them the spell they used when they first visited. It becomes a family tradition, and Faye and Diana will just smile at each other.

What was once terrifying is now comforting and they wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
